“I really don’t want my dad fighting in a war that we shouldn’t be fighting,” she says.
She has other motivations for a Bush defeat this November.
“I’m going to have to drop out of Harvard because he’s going to oppress all the minorities,” Cleveland jokes.
NOBODY’S HOME
Unfortunately, Cleveland and Crisman-Cox don’t get much of a chance to argue their views. After 30 minutes, the duo have yet to change anyone’s vote. “Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not,” Cleveland shrugs.
Crisman-Cox attempts to explain. “Lots of people say they don’t have the time to talk to us—” he says.
“Which is weird because what the hell is there to do in New Hampshire?” Cleveland cracks back.
The cold weather isn’t the only obstacle to campaign success: the volunteers must cope with obscured house numbers, hidden street signs and the dreaded unpronounceable last name.
Despite the lack of response, the volunteers remain upbeat.
“I feel like [it gives me] even more motivation, like I have to talk to somebody before Nov. 2, like I have to convince someone,” Cleveland says. “It acts as a motivator—I didn’t get anyone this week, I’ll try to get them next week.”
In their encounters, the volunteers glimpse the elusive nature of the swing state voter. Some residents simply aren’t registered—one man, who appeared completely apathetic at first, warmed up when Jordan C. Ford ’08 offered him information on voter registration. Others are wary of the constant stream of political operatives who flood their state each year, mumbling a refusal (“I’m not interested, sorry”; “I don’t discuss my vote”) before slamming the door.
And then there are those who defy classification.
“My husband said I’m not allowed to talk to you,” one woman told Ford and Marissa L. Long ’08, according to the volunteers. One man claimed Kerry and Osama Bin Laden were working together; another said he didn’t vote “on principle.” A senior citizen in a retirement community intimated that he would call the cops if the volunteers didn’t promptly leave the property.
Salem wasn’t the only target town. ACT sends volunteers to all corners of the state, where they are dropped off with nothing but a map, a list of undecided voters, and a basic training sheet.
The weekly trips have been running since mid-September, and Dems campaigns director Gregory M. Schmidt ’06 estimates that over 200 undergraduates have participated so far, along with dozens of local residents.
Ronald K. Anguas ’08, a native Floridian who was taking his first campaign trip, says he is too young to vote in the upcoming election—so the Salem sojourn is the only way for him to make an impact.
“I’m from a swing state so this is my contribution in lieu of voting,” he says.
—Michael M. Grynbaum can be reached at grynbaum@fas.harvard.edu.